


To Cure her Depression

by ladytenten



Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff, One Shot, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27598582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladytenten/pseuds/ladytenten
Summary: “My present goal was to get rid of Tenten’s depression.”Tenten has been depressed as of late and Neji takes it upon himself to try and help her overcome her depression. Based on the quote from Neji's diary entry in the Naruto Retsuden novel
Relationships: Hyuuga Neji/Tenten
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47





	To Cure her Depression

It was a clear day in the land of fire, with the sun shining bright overhead only being blocked by the various fluffy white clouds that floated overhead. Team Gai had only just returned from an extended mission the day before and as such, Lady Tsunade was generous enough to give them the next day off. Gai was receiving treatment in the hospital after sustaining injuries and with Lee opting to spend the day tending to their sensei, training together as a team wasn’t an option. Neji didn’t mind though. It was nice to have a day to spend how he wanted to spend it for once.

Presently, he was making his way over to Tenten’s apartment complex from the Hyuga compound. He wasn’t entirely sure if he knew why, but something had seemed off about Tenten these past few days. She seemed less focused, and was far from acting like her high spirited self. It was strange. Not even Gai and Lee’s antics could make her act like herself. It worried Neji. He had never seen her like this before. 

It didn’t take him long to reach his destination. He knocked on her door and patiently waited for her to answer it. The door soon opened to reveal his teammate wearing her pajamas. Her hair normally tied up in two buns hung down on either side of her face in pigtails. Tenten looked up at him with confusion before speaking. 

“Neji, hi,” she greeted. “What...what are you doing here? Is something wrong...?” Neji looked down at her for a moment and was silent. How was he even supposed to bring up his concerns so all of a sudden? And even if he managed to ask her and get the answer to what had been going on those past few days, what then? What would he say? Neji inwardly cursed at how he had such a hard time with words. And yet, he couldn’t just leave it either. He needed to say something. He needed to show that he cared. 

“I was just wondering if you would like to do some light training with me. Lee is spending the day with Gai so it would just be the two of us. We could go at our own pace,” Neji responded inconspicuously. Maybe he would find the words later on? Maybe they would come into conversation naturally? Tenten frowned somewhat at the suggestion.

“Uh...yeah, I guess... Let me just get dressed, I’ll meet you downstairs in a bit.” 

Neji left Tenten to get ready and as promised, she met him not ten minutes later, dressed with her hair up in her typical buns and her big green scroll on her back. She still seemed in low spirits but at least she was being compliant with Neji's suggestion. 

“Ready?” she asked. Neji nodded and they were soon on their way to the grounds they had been training on since they were genin. Being there brought back many memories and feelings, some good, some bad, and some annoying. But overall, Neji always felt nostalgic here. He reminisced about the times he would spar with Tenten here and on the occasion she got the upper hand, she would look at him with such an arrogant grin. He remembered it driving him up the wall at the time. But where that playfully arrogant girl used to stand now stood a version of herself that made Neji sad. She seemed depressed, but Neji couldn’t think of why that may be. He could only hope that training would bring her spirits back up. 

The two moved to stand across from each other and took offensive stances. After signalling to Tenten that she could take the first hit, the two stood still for a moment before Tenten charged at Neji with her bo-staff. Neji gracefully dodged her jab before trying to get hit of his own, which she effectively side stepped. The two went back and forth with their sparring. As they progressed, Tenten would summon different tools to use, though Neji also noticed her getting increasingly more irritated as time went on. Tenten finally summoned a big iron fan that she menacingly, yet somewhat sloppily started waving around. Neji was just barely able to avoid it, only sustaining a graze to his cheek. A thin line of blood then appeared and Neji winced slightly. He reached up to touch the cut and then inspect the blood on his finger before noticing a small puff of smoke before him. Tenten’s fan was gone and she approached him with worry in her eyes.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry, I got carried away…” Tenten quickly apologized. Neji simply shook his head. 

“It’s just a scratch, there is nothing to apologize for,” he reassured. Her form had been off while they fought, Neji observed. She seemed much sloppier in her movement, and seemed much more easily angered in battle. That was far from the cool-headed weapons mistress Neji was used to fighting beside. Perhaps the sparring didn’t have the desired effect Neji had hoped for after all. “Are you hungry?” Neji asked to switch the topic. 

“Not really,” Tenten shook her head. Her stomach growling a moment later said otherwise though. “I...guess…” Neji turned to face the direction of the village. 

“Let’s go get lunch,” Neji insisted before walking back. Tenten stood still for a moment and stared at the back of his head with mild confusion before sighing and moving to catch up with him. 

As was common among their friend group, the two settled on Ichiraku ramen for lunch. They sat beside each other in the stall and not long after they arrived, bowls of ramen were placed in front of each of them. As Neji ate, he occasionally glanced over at Tenten. Each time he did, he noticed that she was just idly staring down at her bowl with her chopsticks in hand. She had barely eaten any of it during the time they sat in the ramen stall. Neji turned to look at Tenten more directly with a small frown on his face. 

“What’s the matter? Aren’t you going to eat?” Tenten blinked as though she had just been lost in thought and had snapped out of it and then looked over at Neji. 

“Oh-...” Tenten responded before picking up noodles with her chopsticks to take a bite. Neji turned back to his food but he couldn’t help the sense of worry that grew in him. He couldn’t remember a time when Tenten lacked an appetite. Neji would try and push his worries aside for the moment as he finished his lunch. 

After lunch, Tenten had been about to go off on her own back to her apartment, but before she could do so, an idea formed in Neji’s mind. 

“Tenten,” Neji quickly said before she could walk away. Tenten turned back to look at him. “I was going to go meditate by the river. I thought that perhaps...you might like to join me…?” he told her, but it came out more like a nervous question than anything. Tenten eyed him skeptically for a moment shrugging.

“Okay,” she responded. Neji waited for her to approach him before leading the way to the riverbank. Upon arriving, Neji sat down cross legged and took a deep breath. The sun was warm on his face and the sound of the water gently rushing by was calming. Maybe meditating in a scenic spot like this one would help recenter Tenten. Neji opened his eyes and looked over at Tenten, and his eyes followed her as she sat down beside him. For a moment their gazes locked and Neji could read just how confused she was. She was scanning over his face silently, as though she would get answers just by looking at him but when she couldn’t figure it out, she frowned slightly before speaking. 

“Okay, Neji…you’ve been acting really weird today…” Tenten finally broke the silence. Neji’s eyebrows rose slightly before he tilted his head. 

“What do you mean?” Tenten shifted to face Neji more directly before answering.

“It’s just...I dunno…” Tenten sighed. “I don’t know how to describe it. But...is something...on your mind…? You know you can tell me if there is…” Tenten looked at him with concern. Neji felt a sense of guilt. It seemed he had worried her in his attempt to help her feel better. That was the complete opposite of what he wanted. Neji let out a slow breath from his nose.

“Forgive me, Tenten...I hadn’t meant to worry you.” Neji shifted to face Tenten. “I...had just noticed that you seemed...depressed recently. I just thought that perhaps...I could help you get your mind off your troubles…” The line between Neji’s lips thinned and he looked off to the side in embarrassment. “However...I suppose it was foolish of me to not try and talk to you about it first.” Neji looked back at Tenten and their eyes locked once again, however there wasn’t any confusion between them this time. Neji felt his cheeks begin to warm as he tried to find the words he wanted to say next. Neji wasn’t typically one to be good with words, or with emotions. 

“Tenten...I want you to know that if you need to talk...or if you ever need anything...you can always turn to me. Just as you’ve always been there for me, I want to do the same for you,” Neji spoke quietly. For a moment, the two of them were silent, but Neji never took his eyes off her. Tenten looked back at him with a confused expression, though it quickly turned into a small smile. She shook her head and a small amused breath escaped from her nose. 

“Neji...you don’t have to go out of your way like that for me.” Her smile widened slightly. “But...I appreciate it. That means a lot.” Neji stared back at her for a moment before a smile grew on his lips and his shoulders slowly relaxed. 

“You’re welcome.” A sense of relief and warmth washed over Neji at the sight of her finally smiling. He may not have rid her of her depression as he had hoped to, but as long as she knew he was there for her, that was all that mattered to him. “Well then...are you alright? Is there anything I can do for you?” Tenten shook her head. 

“I’ll...I’ll be okay I think…” Tenten responded. Neji simply nodded and looked down at his lap. “Well…” he looked back up at her. She looked back at him with a smile, and a slightly mischievous glint in her eye. “If you _really_ wanted to cheer me up…” she spoke with a somewhat playful tone, “you’d buy me sweets from that one new bakery that opened up by Ino’s flower shop.” Neji raised his eyebrows at the request before he let out a gentle chuckle.

“I suppose when you put it like that, I have no choice but to oblige.” Neji stood up and looked down at Tenten. “Let’s go. I hear the lines get rather long at this time of the day, the sooner we get there the better.”


End file.
